Description:

This research study included an extensive literature review on existing sewer sediment flushing technologies. An innovative vacuum flush system previously developed by the U.S. EPA was tested under laboratory conditions. The tests revealed a strong correlation between the strength of the flushing wave and the speed of the vacuum break. The original design did not succeed in providing a fast enough vacuum break despite being tested in different configurations. To improve the vacuum break time, Rutgers developed two alternative mechanisms. These alternative designs showed promising results in the laboratory, but remain to be tested under field conditions. Given the difficulty in finding a suitable test site, the research team did a performance comparison of current technology against the proposed system. Six sites were visited for the performance comparison.
[NOTE: The link below connects to a WERF site where the Final Report can be downloaded for free, after registering at the WERF site. For some projects the Executive Summary is available and can be downloaded for free without registering on the WERF site.]

Purpose/Objective:

This research demonstrates the strong correlation between the vacuum break speed and the strength of the flushing wave. The research also demonstrates that the U.S. EPA vacuum flush technology has the potential of being successfully applied in the field with small modifications. Alternative designs are provided to improve the response of the vacuum break over the original U.S. EPA vacuum flush technology and over existing flushing technologies.